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BREAKING: Broward man faces charges in Jupiter Island home invasion

Authorities in Broward County take Markell Brown of Lauderhill into custody on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. He is facing home-invasion charges in Martin County and was being questioned in connection to a Broward homicide. (Photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office)

JUPITER ISLAND

A 22-year-old Broward County man was arrested Wednesday morning in connection to an armed home invasion last month in Jupiter Island.

Authorities in Broward County took Markell Brown of Lauderhill into custody as he was stopped in a car with his girlfriend. On Wednesday afternoon, Brown was being questioned in connection to a homicide case in Broward County as well as the Jan. 20 home invasion, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said during a news conference streamed live on the department’s Facebook page.

Brown was to be booked into the Broward County Jail Wednesday night and is expected to appear in court there Thursday to face the murder charge. He will appear in Martin County court but the date has not yet been determined, sheriff’s spokeswoman Christine Weiss said Wednesday evening.

Martin County investigators allege that Brown and another person broke into a couple’s home during the overnight hours and stole jewelry, cash and electronics. The second suspect remains at large, Snyder said.

In the hours after the home invasion, a 62-year-old man told investigators he and his wife had been asleep when they woke up and saw someone pointing a flashlight at them in their Links Road home. The couple told investigators they were ordered to lay face down on the floor as the suspects searched their home.

Brown has a history of 17 felony arrest, several for violent crimes, Snyder said. He added that Brown was released from prison last year after serving time for aggravated assault and delivery of a controlled substance.

“It was very important that we get him off the street,” Snyder said. “We’re relieved. We’ve been tracking him and following leads for days now.”

The suspects took several items, including a Macbook laptop, two iPhones, credit cards, a gold bracelet and a wedding ring, the sheriff’s office. They warned the couple not to call police for at least 20 minutes. The couple watched as the suspects went outside and waited about 20 minutes before going to the police station.

According to an arrest report, a back patio door was open and the home’s alarm had not been set.